ARMENIA · UNRIPE GRAPES · 0% ABV

VERJUS

The tart juice of green grapes — softer than lemon, more expressive than vinegar. Revived in Armenia, where wine has been made for more than six thousand years.

also known here as
azokh / ազոխ ARARAT VALLEY
FRESH · TART · GASTRONOMIC discover the bottles ↓
ARARAT VALLEY
picked green.
pressed bright.
01 — THE STORY

Before
the lemon.

Verjus is unfermented juice made from grapes picked before they ripen. For centuries it was one of the great souring ingredients of European, Middle Eastern and Persian kitchens.

ARARAT VALLEY / EARLY SEASON
A SOURING INGREDIENT, NOT A SUBSTITUTE

Its acidity comes mainly from tartaric acid, with smaller amounts of other grape acids depending on variety and terroir. The result is bright, but less aggressively citric than lemon juice: green, vinous, gently fruity and rounded.

The word verjus comes from French. Across the Middle East it has also lived under other names — including hosrom and the Persian ab ghure / ghoore. Historical dictionaries also record Armenian names such as azokh (ազոխ) and zhrrajur (ժռաջուր).

“Think lemon.
Then think softer.”
Historical terminology varies by language and region. We use “azokh” as a bridge between the old ingredient and its contemporary Armenian revival.
02 — WHY VERJUS

A different
kind of sour.

It does not try to be lemon juice. It does something else.

01 / ACIDITY

Bright, but rounded.

Tartaric grape acidity gives dishes and drinks lift without the hard citrus edge of lemon.

02 / FLAVOUR

Green fruit, not just sourness.

Unripe grapes bring their own subtle vegetal, fruity and vinous character to the glass and plate.

03 / VINEYARD

Use the fruit twice.

Verjus gives a useful second life to grapes removed early from the vineyard rather than letting that crop become waste.

03 — THE FIRST THREE

Three ways
to drink green.

One raw material. Three different expressions — for the kitchen, the aperitif and the serious non-alcoholic table.

Verjus
Concentrate

100 ml

Extra-sour, freshly pressed, clarified and pasteurised juice of unripe Syrah grapes from the Ararat Valley. Use it where you would normally reach for lemon juice or vinegar — or dilute it for drinks.

SyrahArarat Valley cookingcocktails

Verjus
Lemonade Classique

0% ABV

Verjus, pure water and CO₂. No added sugar. No alcohol. A dry, sparkling and gastronomic alternative to ordinary lemonade.

unsweetenedsparkling 0% ABVaperitif

Armenian
Proxy Wine №1

0% ABV

Verjus with Armenian botanicals: Alchemilla sevangensis, wild mint and mountain sorrel. Layered for body, tannin and acidity — made to behave more like wine than a soft drink.

botanicaltannic dry0% ABV
04 — IN THE KITCHEN & THE BAR

Cook it.
Shake it.
Pour it.

Vinaigrettes & sauces
Seafood & vegetables
Marinades
Desserts
Classic & signature cocktails
Lemonades & spritzes
A CLASSIC EXAMPLE

The Dijon mustard tradition once called for verjus instead of vinegar.

It is a perfect example of what makes verjus useful: acidity with grape character, without the sharp fermented note of vinegar.

ask for recipes →

“Not a lemon replacement.
A new Armenian sour.”

VERJUS / AZOKH / ԱԶՈԽ
05 — A REVIVAL

Old ingredient.
New glass.

From the vineyard

We press unripe grapes from Armenia's vineyards while their acidity is still high and their flavour is already distinctly grape. The juice is clarified and pasteurised to preserve that bright early-season character.

From Armenia

Armenia has one of the world's oldest archaeological records of winemaking. We are interested in what happens when that heritage is not treated as a museum piece — but as raw material for something new.

06 — FIND / ORDER / TALK

Taste the
revival.

Available online and through selected restaurants and bars in Yerevan and beyond. We work with places that actually use verjus in their kitchen or bar — not just places that put a bottle on a shelf.